1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates, in general, to ramp apparatuses for curtain airbags for vehicles and, more particularly, to a ramp apparatus for a curtain airbag for a vehicle, which seals a gap between a vehicular body panel and a pillar trim when the curtain airbag is deployed.
2. Description of Related Art
Generally, airbag systems for protecting a passenger from a side collision of a vehicle are classified into a curtain airbag for protecting the head of a passenger and a side airbag for protecting the side of a passenger.
Among them, the curtain airbag is installed along the side upper end in a vehicle in such a way as to be deployed in a curtain manner in the event of a vehicle collision. The curtain airbag can protect a passenger even when the vehicle is overturned as well as in the event of a side collision, thus providing a high degree of safety to the passenger. For example, when an inflator is operated in response to a collision signal, gas exploded in the inflator flows into the curtain airbag, thus inflating the curtain airbag. The inflated curtain airbag is deployed into the space of a vehicle to protect a passenger in the case of a vehicle collision.
Especially, as shown in FIG. 5, a ramp bracket 30 having a bent part 31 of FIG. 5A is mounted in a space between a headliner 10 and a vehicular body panel 50 to guide the deployment of a curtain airbag 20. Thus, when the curtain airbag 20 is inflated as a result of a vehicle collision, the inflated curtain airbag 20 pushes a matching part 11 connected between the headliner 10 and a pillar trim 40 with strong pressure. At this time, the curtain airbag 20 is deployed through the open gap of the matching part 11.
However, when the curtain airbag 20 is inflated in the space between the headliner 10 and the vehicular body panel 50 (the dotted lines of FIG. 5), the pillar trim 40 is removed from the vehicular body panel 50, so that the curtain airbag 20 may not be deployed through the matching part between the headliner 10 and the pillar trim 40, but may be deployed to a space between the pillar trim 40 and the vehicular body panel 50 or the curtain airbag 20 may be caught by the pillar trim 40, so that the curtain airbag 20 may not be deployed smoothly. Further, since the conventional ramp bracket 30 is made of a steel material, FMH impact performance is poor due to the excessive rigidity of the steel material.
The information disclosed in this Background of the Invention section is only for enhancement of understanding of the general background of the invention and should not be taken as an acknowledgement or any form of suggestion that this information forms the prior art already known to a person skilled in the art.